Madness is here
by Monochrome666
Summary: Alice, after many years in an orphanage, finds herself back in wonderland.  Although nothing is as it seems...  My first story, so I hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

Madness is here

The world seemed to be spiralling round my head, like a rollercoaster out of control to the point where it made me physically sick. With a groan, I lifted my body, feeling as heavy as lead. What has just happened to me, I thought, swivelling my head round and scanning the area. All I remember was chasing after this white rabbit, not the usual ones either; it seemed to be able to talk and was wearing a very queer waist coat…..

Pushing that thought out of my mind, I dragged myself upwards, feeling the strain of gravity on my muscles. Something wasn't right with this place, any person could tell that.

I seemed to be confined in a tightly compacted room, stacked sky high with books, which seemed to tower over my head like scowling parents. My head seemed to be suffering a head ache, as if a tiny hammer was banging against the side of my cranium.

Suddenly, something caught my eye. A tiny, azure door hid tenebrous in the corner. With a feeling of curiosity, I crept through the piles of books and paper, as if I was walking over a mine field. When I reached the door, I found that only a person the size of mouse would ever be able to squeeze through it.

Sighing, I stepped back, before a high pitched voice piped out at me.

"What's wrong? Not good enough?"

Nearly leaping out of my skin, I cocked my head round the room, feeling a sense of terror seizing me in its grasp.

"Who's there?" I asked, trying not to show fear.

"Down here you numpty!"

Glancing down, I saw that it was the door talking to me. Great, first a white rabbit in a waist coat, now talking doors? What next I thought, feeling that I must be losing my sanity. None of this was true, it must be a dream.

"Hello? Miss Day dream, I'm talking to you here." The door spat in annoyance.

Remembering my manners, I kneeled down, looking at the door face to face. It seemed that it was able to talk from the key hole and was able to see. How it did, I did not know.

"Could I ask you something Mr Door," I asked politely, "Do you by chance know the way out of this place? I have seemed to have fallen down a hole and have got myself utterly lost."

"Yeah, I know a way out," it mumbled, a little taken aback at my manners, "You have to go through me. Although you are way too big to get through; you would suffocate me."

Feeling worse, I sat down, tears trickling down my face. I will never get out of here, I'm imprisoned in my own dream I thought; dread gripping my heart like a vice. Sadness was balling out of my eyes, creating a huge pool at my feet.

"Hey, hey, calm down there Missy." The door said sympathetically, "All you need to do is drink the bottle on the table, that's all. No need for all the tears."

Sniffling, I wiped my eyes and got up. The table was over in the other corner, meaning treading through the mine field again.

A tiny bottle was propped up on the table; it was contained a silver substance and was had a label around the nape of the bottle.

It said: Drink me.

Puzzled, I walked back. Without thinking logically, I took a sip.

Suddenly, the world seemed to expand, the bottle becoming very heavy in my hand, forcing me to let it go. When everything stopped moving, and my body not feeling violently strained, I noticed that I was the size of a mouse.

Oh God.

The door chuckled in the corner, only silencing when I sent daggers in its direction.

"What the heck just happened? What was that liquid you made me drink?" I shouted in anger, feeling my soul being consumed by fire.

"_Made_ you? How could I if I don't have hands? Don't worry, now you are small enough to get through."

"But, how do I change back?"

"You just have to figure out that part on your own. Anyway, do you want to leave or not?"

Hesitating, I surfed through my options. There wasn't any; the only way was to exit from the door. With my decision made, I ran across the floor, before gripping the handle and pulling it with all my might. Luckily, it swung open with ease, a blinding light from down the mysterious tunnel. Breathing deeply, I entered in, the door closing behind with a clunk.


	2. Chapter 2

The light smacked me in the face, painfully blinding my eyes for a few seconds before everything came back into focus.

A tiny little town appeared, dazzling in light and sparkling like stars on earth. It seemed like a festival was going on, except one thing was missing.

People.

A shiver vibrated through me, rattling my bones and freezing me to the core. The happiness I had felt evaporated into the air, replaced by depression. While walking through the street, I noticed that every house was the same, eerily the same.

In the middle of the town centre, there was a sun dial protruding from the ground. It was made of bronze, shaped to look like a lily.

As I stood before it, I heard a faint dragging sound from behind. Turning slowly, I braced myself for the worst.

"We need your help…." A voice shrieked from the shadows. Slowly, the person crawled from behind the building. What I saw made me quiver all over in terror.

A small child, at least six, was dragging its body across the ground, its left leg torn off, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

Leaping forward, I ran to the child. What kind of place was this?

Before I could reach the child, a sword narrowly missed my head, crashing a meter in front. Cocking my head round, I saw a sight even worse than before.

A huge china doll, with stitches across its face and a laser for an eye, stood before me with a crazy smile plastered across its face.

A huge sword stained crimson was gripped in its hand, giving a blood thirsty aura.

Once again, it swung its sword, cutting my hand off as I tried in vain to dodge it. The pain seized over me, coming up my arm in shock waves as the blood spewed out from the stump like a fountain.

Shit, I thought, I'm in hell!

When I looked to my left, the child's body was gone. It had been a trap from the very beginning. I had been lured like a mosquito to the light, unable to realize that the light was my doom.

Looking down at my hand, I noticed that the bleeding wasn't stopping, as if a valve had broken off and letting the blood pour until none was left. Quickly, I wrapped my hand with a strip of her trousers; the tourniquet would have to do.

"Why won't YOU play with ME?" It asked, its voice changing from high to low.

"Let me see, number 1, you're bloody trying to kill me. 2, you're crazy and you cut off my hand!" I shrieked, dodging yet another blow.

There is no point, I am going to die in this hell hole anyway, I thought with immortal dread.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flash blinded me, sending me clattering to the ground. When my eyes came back to reality, I saw that the doll had been torn into pieces, with its jaw hanging from a hinge and the sockets blown to pieces. A cat was perched on top, licking its paws gently.

What the heck is going on, I thought with utter confusion.

Getting on my feet, I treaded carefully over to the cat, not sure if it was a friendly beast. I stuck out my hand to stroke it, when it gave me look that would curdle milk.

"My dear, I am not your usual tabby, please desist from treating me like one." The cat hissed, flashing its razor sharp teeth in a grimace. It took me a few seconds before my head snapped back on. Did this cat just talk to me? I must be having a really crazy dream…..

"I've never had a dream like this before," I acknowledged, scanning over the desolate town, "I must had eaten something weird before I went to sleep."

A loud cackle ringed in her ears; the cat was laughing with a bitter grin across his face (can cats grin?).

"Dream? This is no dream, my dear. This is _wonderland,_ or, at least, it has changed since you have been away for ten years."

It was as if my body had been dunked into a basin of ice water. A strange tingling sensation crawled through the caverns of my veins. So the white rabbit, the Red Queen, they were all real…

"How do I know that I am not dreaming?"

"Well, that you are just going to have to decide for yourself; but I don't think they are going to wait for an answer."

"What do you mean by 'they'?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"You either have to be blind or stupid," he answered flatly, avoiding my glare, "Do you remember that large ugly monster that attacked you? That is one of the Black Queen's servants."

"Black Queen? You don't mean the Red Queen, because I've never heard of this so called Black Queen."

"No idiot, I mean Black. She appeared a year after you left this land, and since then she has caused 'Wonderland' to fall apart. From then, I've been on my own, fighting the years through and hoping that someday that you will come back to us, to save us before it is too late. I know it sounds really clichéd but I am not kidding; you our hope kiddo so stop messing around with this doll and save this place before we all lose our minds."

"But I thought that we had already lost our minds. There is not a drop of sanity in this God forsaken place!" I retorted, turning my back so that he didn't see the panic that was spreading over my face. Why was I the only one to save this place? I could barely survive against one lowly minion, let alone a whole horde of the monsters. The thing is, if Wonderland gets destroyed, I will also be…

"Fine, I will do as you ask; I can't think of anything else I could be doing. Although you have to promise me that you will lead me straight home afterwards."

The cat grinned again, twirling its tail slowly and then flicking it like a whip. I have been through a lot, but I am not _that_ crazy.

"Now, how is that hand of yours? If you haven't noticed, if you were in reality you should have died from blood loss," the cat stated, "But if you were in a dream, you would have already have awoken from such a traumatising experience."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, completely confused.

"Let me make this clear – you are not in reality nor are you in a dream. You are in the parallel world in between – Wonderland."

For a few seconds, my brain tried to mull over what the cat was saying, but the more I thought, the less I liked it and a nasty feeling, like amnesia, was frying my circuit. The cat sat quietly, a slight tweak of amusement on its face as it watched me deteriorate in confusion.

"If only it was as simple as back then," I moaned, collapsing on the floor, "back then, I would play games and have the most wonderful time. Now I have crazy dolls with massive swords swinging at me without a care in the world. From the day I entered this world, I knew it was far from stable in mind. But to think it could be so dangerous…"

"Well, you're just going to have to live with that. Of course, you can not do this battle empty handed."

As if from nowhere, a knife, about the size you would use in a kitchen, hovered in front of my face on invisible strings.

"Great, now I can just slice them up and make sushi!" I commented sarcastically.

"Don't judge it by its appearance; the more you fight, the more powerful it becomes. Whatever you imagine, it will become. Although, it does have limitations on how long it can maintain that particular form…"

"Wait a cotton picken' minute – madness has a limit?"

"Of course! If it didn't, God knows what would happen; this world would be torn apart from its very stitches."

With a little hesitation, I gripped the handle. It was lighter than what I would have expected. Its cool touch vibrated through my veins, sending shivers back as a response. Never have I been fascinated by such an item.

"I didn't come here for a fight…" I mumbled, swing the knife with ease.

"A shame," the cat commented, purring deeply, "Others certainly want to fight _you._"

I avoided looking at the cat, knowing it would be wearing that sickly grin. All I'd ever wanted in life was to be normal, have a family and never have any worries for events to come…

But life wasn't like that. I lived in an orphanage. I had no family. Everyday I was scared of the unfortunate events wounding around to, waiting for the right moment to strike. Wonderland had been my sanctuary, my home; I couldn't allow some wanneby queen to take over and reek havoc.

"Tell me what to do next." I commanded, turning to face bizarre, but scarily real cat.

"Peeerrrrrfect!" he purred, swishing his tail in glee. "First, go to the mock turtle and ask the direction of the mad hatter's house. He will be able to guide you along to where the black queen is."

I nodded slowly, turning with haste but the cat didn't seem to be finished.

"Remember – I am not sending you to the park. The journey you will take will be a perilous one, and don't expect your enemies to be as easy as the one you faced here. Most likely I won't be there to give you a helping hand; you are on your own."

Without hesitation, I darted off along the path, fearing that the worst was yet to come.

__**I totally love writing these chapters! I usually write these in between classes when i'm bored :) . Hope you guys are enjoying this. This is my first story so please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

It appeared that the path went on forever, winding in all directions, giving me a frightful headache. The forest was very quiet (maybe too quiet – god, I am being really clichéd today), its leaves completely still in the icy air. The ancient trees over hung the path, bending painfully down like an old man on the verge of his spinal cord snapping clean in two.

No matter what way I looked, all I saw was darkness and the path leading on, and on, and on. Sad to say, I was completely and utterly lost. Damn my luck!

Why did that cat just leave? I mean, if he was my ally, than why did he leave on the spot?

I sighed softly, feeling that things couldn't possibly get worst.

Of course, It is the most stupid thing to think, believe me I've done it so many times.

"Look who it is! Didn't expect to see little Alice back in her Wonderland…"

The voice nearly made me leap out of my skin. I didn't even need to look behind me to know who it was. With surprise, I exclaimed the words so loud that he leaped back, startled.

"WHITE RABBIT!" I exclaimed, turning violently round and leaped on him, nearly squishing him flat.

"Nice to see you…. Too…." The white rabbit spluttered, slowly suffocating under my weight.

"I'm sorry." I spluttered, letting go of him and sitting on the ground.

"That is alright – anyway, why are you in Wonderland?"

"That has got to be pretty obvious, don't you think? I am here to save wonderland…"

"No,no,no,no,no,no….." he started to jabber, clutching his head. "You can't, you don't know what she is like Alice! If you do one thing wrong, those doll robots will make you change your mind."

"Is this the black queen you are talking about?"

"Who else? She is the only person who would cause so much havoc. I would even go as far as saying that I want the red queen to be back in power."

"You don't mean that! Remember how she made you run around everywhere, making your life a pain in the ass."

"It might have been a pain in the ass, but at least it was durable. The black queen is making this world a living hell, believe me! I am even scared of my own shadow, fearing that it will spring up and strangle me to death. Why can't it just end my misery?"

In anger, I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him vigorously, praying that it might stick his head back in place.

"Listen to yourself! Where is your fighting spirit? Even if you don't believe, at least don't start turning mad!"

"Little late don't you think?" The white rabbit stated, lying limp in her hands, like a puppet cut from its strings.

"You are sounding like that bloody cat and my stupid psychiatrist!"

Yes, it's true. I have been forced to have sessions with a psychiatrist – they think I am blinking mad; they are probably right. Not only that, I have to take these pills that 'supposedly' help with my delusions. They believe that I am insane due to the fire that consumed my house, killing all that I owned and loved. For some reason, they think that I still have the imagination of a child, even though I am twenty seven years old.

"I presume when you say 'cat' that you are probably referring to the annoying Cheshire cat, with a grin that could drive anyone off their rocker."

"Who else? All I want to do is to go back home… I mean, back to my own world, not this mad place that makes any reasonably comment sound barmy." I grumbled, looking as if I had drunk a whole carton of sour milk.

Silence commenced, only a slight breeze could be heard ruffling the leaves above. A shiver vibrated through, sending bad signals all over. Something was about to happen, I just knew it.

Suddenly, a fast moving object narrowly missed my head, slicing through two trees before lying still, ten feet away. What the hell is going on?

From the shadows, a strange creature emerged, which could not really be explained. It looked like a mixture of a kettle with a scorpion tail. It had three eyes on all sides of its head, as large as saucers. The tail seemed to have been the object thrown, because it slowly retreated back to its master, in a way which I knew had to be living.

"Uh…. Mr Rabbit, what is that abominable thing?"

"Don't you know? That is one type of the Queen's guards. I wonder why it's here….?"

"I don't think this is the time to be wondering why," I growled, "We need to move, NOW!"

With haste, I scooped up the rabbit and sprinted down the road, hoping with every vibe of my body that we could escape. A painful slash spreaded up my leg, causing me to fall down with an ear piercing shriek. The tail had a hold of my leg, squeezing it so hard that I could barely feel any sensation. It started to drag me back, its mouth opening to show razor sharp teeth and a mouth that looked like it had never been cleaned. I wasn't going to be a meal for such a disgusting creature – would I even fit in its gullet?

In vain, I tried to crawl away, digging my elbows into the ground to steady myself. For once in my life, I wanted to see that bloody Cheshire cat. Mr Rabbit had already run away – damn him to the lowest depths of hell for all I care!

Then, I remembered the knife I had been given. It was either now or never. Quickly, I pulled out the volpul dagger from my pocket and spiralled round, thrashing wildly at the tail.

A shriek shocked the air and the dark, black blood gushed violently from the wound. The tail was still twitching, hanging by a mere tendon to the bone. Without any logical thinking, I lunged at the creature, anger and violent thoughts consuming my mind.

A few minutes passed, the colour black covering my eyes as swiped at anything in reach. When my senses finally came back to me, I found that the creature was already dead, lying in its own pool of blood, its eyes staring blankless into the sky.

Nausea finally fell upon me, causing me to lurch being a tree, spewing up my breakfast. The smell stuck to my face like a leech – a sour, pungent smell that disinfectant would have a hard time cleaning. It was the first time I had ever felt like this, and I didn't want it to happen again.

The dagger lay innocent in the grass, glistening brightly in the black blood. I picked it up and wiped it across the ground. Whatever had come over me to come down that hole is beyond me…

Do you know, you would think I would have learned from the last time. Sadly, I was running away from that awful Dr Schafer and the only safe haven I could think of was that bloody hole.

A low tremor could be felt below, which I found rather peculiar. I pin-pointed the direction the rumbling had come from and started walking. To be honest, I had no clue why I was even following the low rumble, but it seemed like the closest thing to civilisation I could find in my supposed 'wonderland'.

This is going to just be fine, don't worry, I thought to myself, my mind reeling with all the events in the last two hours. What was I even going to do when I escaped this place? Run my own business? Live on the streets or go back to the psychiatric hospital for the mentally unstable?

Stop it Alice, thinking like that will get you nowhere.

Through the thicket of the trees, there was a visible outline of a bizarrely shaped building. When I get closer to it, I noticed that the shape resembled the face of a pig – the eyes as the windows and the nostril holes as handles to open the front door. Well, all I could say was that it was very _original._

The path winding up to the door was laced with beautiful blue ivy, entwined between the stone slates, like pulsating veins in a human. With slight hesitation (probably because the door knocker was in the shape a claw like hand), I tapped the knocker lightly against the magenta door. I could hear no movement from inside, so decided that I should check round the back to see if anyone was in the garden.

Vibrant colours nearly blinded me as I unhinged a gate leading to the back of the house. Never had I seen such a beautiful sight – innocent lilies floating on the pond, bluebells chiming in the breeze, roses with small droplets of perspiration which twinkled in the sunlight.

How could anyone grow such dazzling array of plants? When I had tried to plant sunflowers, I ended up drowning them or leaving them too long in the sunlight, making the petals wilt and fall apart.

I quietly walked over to the pond, where I could see a selection of fish, dashing around in the warm water with glee. When I inspected them more closely, I noticed something rather peculiar (surprise, surprise). A rather plump fish, a greyish brown colour, was puffing on a weed pipe. Another fish, which was a snow white, had a rather strange antennae sticking on top of its head. Was that a halo? One of the fish even had whiskers and started meowing at any fish which barged into it.

"She doesn't look like someone around here…"

"Wonder who she is?"

"Who cares! Why is she in _our _garden? Last time I noticed it was Duchess' garden."

Spinning around, I tried to see where the voices had been coming from. But no one was there…

"Oh! I think she heard us."

"But she seems to have a brain the size of a pea – she doesn't even know where we are."

Straining my ears to their fullest extent, I tried to pinpoint where the voices were coming from. Oddly enough, it seemed that the voices were from below me. To my surprise, an orchid opened in full bloom to show a toothy grin.

"Oh, she found us!" the orchid giggled, shaking its leaves so violently that some fell off.

"We weren't playing hide and seek you know," a rose piped up in annoyance, glowering from under her large spectacles. "You act like a spoiled child."

The orchid changed from a toothy grin to a snarl, the colour of her petals turning to a dark purple.

"No one asked you, Miss-no-it-all!" the Orchid snapped, sticking out its tongue defiantly. Do plants usually have a tongue?

"Hold the phone here," I interrupted in confusion, "How can plants speak?"

With a sigh, the rose turned her head towards to me, giving me a look up and down which said 'who the hell does this kid think she is'.

"You are from up there aren't you?" she pointed up to the sky.

"I guess you could say that…"

"That explains why you stand out so much – your clothes are what peasant boys usually wear and the amount of skin you are showing is despicable."

Oh great, first I get attacked by a doll and some kettle monster, now I am getting fashion tips from a flower. What next… floating potato heads?

"Yeah, I didn't come here for a lecture you know," I mumbled in anger, "sheesh, nothing is even remotely sane down here – including myself."

The flowers were whispering between each other, glancing back at me with looks of critism.

"Can you please tell me where the lady of the house is – I don't mean to interrupt your, um, relaxation."

"She is out in the pig sty over the river." replied one of the snow drops.

Thanking them, I sprinted away down the lane, desperate to get away from the annoying plants.

The path was dotted with sunlight, dancing gently in the breeze that glided through the trees. However you looked at it, this world was beautiful yet dangerous, like gazing at a blood red rose yet forgetting that it has thorns. Without realising, I was walking over a small wooden bridge – a normal bridge. I didn't know why, but I had a bad feeling about anything that looked vaguely normal.

A loud clatter sounded from up ahead so, as always, I jogged over to investigate. I found myself staring at flying snouts with wings and a lady lying down in the mud, panting heavily. The situation was rather bizarre, to the point that I didn't really know what to say.

"Are you going to stand there all day with your mouth hanging from a hinge?" the woman spat, standing up and giving me a queer look. Her demeanour was so high and mighty, yet she was covered in mud. I didn't know whether to answer, leave or just burst out in a fit of giggles.

Strangely enough, I fell to my knees and burst into a fit of giggles, barely containing myself. It had felt like a long time since I had laughed so hard – I was laughing so hard that I was getting stitches.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked, rather taken aback, "I am being perfectly serious little girl. So please, get up and act your age."

"I'm sorry; can you please tell me where the black castle is?"

"Not until you catch my stuons."

Wasn't that just snouts spelled backwards?

I got up and started my attempt of catching the 'stuons'. After twenty minutes, I was panting in the mud, barely able to lift myself anymore. They might look ridiculous, I thought, but they are pretty darn fast.

The pig swarmed round me, hovering over my head and jeering with delight. These guys are going down! But how? I didn't have any sort of trap plan or even a net. A loud sequence of sneezing came from behind me – the Duchess seemed to have an awful cold. I walked over to her (covered in mud and sweat) and offered a clean handkerchief.

Well, at least I could try and get on her good side.

"Thank you my dear." She smiled, taking the tissue and blowing so hard that it could have blown down a house.

"No problem," I answered sweetly, "I hope your cold gets better."

"Oh no, I don't have a cold. It is just all the pepper that is in my house. I split some yesterday and I have been sneezing none stop; if I sneezing any more I think my nose would drop off."

That was when it hit me – I had a light bulb moment.

"Hey, do you have any more pepper in your house," I asked quickly, "it is kind of important.

The Duchess nodded vigorously, but did not say anymore. She could speak through the amount of sneezes she was producing.

Like lighting, I sprinted into the house and grabbed the container in the kitchen labelled 'Reppep'. Why was everything backwards I wonder?

Quickly, I unscrewed the lid, grabbed a handful of pepper and chucked it at the flying stuons. A few seconds passed before something actually happened; they began to sneeze violently. After two minutes of violent sneezing, the stuons fell to the ground with exhaustion.

"There you go! Now, may I ask where the black castle might be?" I asked, scooping the creatures into my arms and gave them to the Duchess.

"Oh course you do… it is a two miles from here down that road behind you," she answered, pointing at a dark lane trickling into the dark forest. "May I ask, why do you want to go to such a foreboding place?"

As I began to walk down the lane, I shouted over my shoulder:

"I have some unfinished business to do!"

**I know, a very cheesy line at the end but still ¬¬ . I hope you like them. RxR please!**


	4. Chapter 4

Before long, I reached the fork in the road which I had gone through just a mere three years ago. If I remember correctly, I should go left, I thought; if I went right, I would have to meet that good-for-nothing…

"Aren't you going to go right?" A voice purred from the shadows, only showing its huge globe like eyes.

"No Cheshire cat; going right will only bring me trouble. You made me go that way last time, but you aren't going to trick me this time."

The cat let out a short blast of laughter, which echoed in my ears for minutes after.

"Come on, don't you want to see your old friend?" it chuckled darkly, "He misses annoying… I mean, being with you." Toothy grin.

Oh of course he does, I thought sarcastically, rolling my eyes in annoyance. Turning my back to it, I started to walk in the direction of the left lane. Bizarrely enough, I found myself standing on the Mad Hatter's porch, goggling at the same table, with the same cups and cakes. How the hell did I appear here? I was sure that the right lane was to the Mad Hatter's house. Without a second thought, I turned to go.

"Alice? Is that you? Good gracious, how positively splendid!"

I knew that voice as well as I knew my own. There was the Mad Hatter, looking as completely crazy as usually. His hat tilted to the side, a cane grasped in one hand and a tea cup in the other – just as I had remembered him.

"Hello Hatter – how wonderful to see you." I answered flatly.

"Such enthusiasm! Come here my dear, and tell me all you have done until now."

"Won't that take a long time?"

"My child, time can wait for anyone. Now come over here, okay?"

Isn't it supposed to be 'time waits for no one'? I thought in confusing – but this was not the first time it had happened, and it would certainly not be the last. Slowly, I walked over and sat uncomfortably beside him. The smell of decaying clothes smacked me in this face, making me nearly gag.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"What do you mean by everyone else? Why, I don't recall anyone else being invited." He answered, polishing the brim of his hat with puzzlement.

When did he invite me? All I did was enter his house by accident, nothing more. Yet he had seemed to have forgotten Mr Rabbit, and that little mouse that would always sing strange songs in a teapot. But I guess it was to be expected – the amount of mercury used on that hat would drive anyone to go insane. But who could sane in this place anyway?

"Alice, you trust me don't you?"

"Course I do, why do you ask?" I didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Good, cause you are going to have to…"

Before I could utter another word, a large object struck the back of my temple, causing my thoughts to go blurry. Soon, I found myself lying on the floor, unable to respond at all. The last thing I saw was the face of the Mad Hatter, a grotesque smile plastered from ear to ear. The world turned black.

Light tickled my face, forcing me to open my eyes in pain. I had no clue where I was, nor what had happened. So I must have been tricked, and after all of these years…

Lifting my body upwards, I scanned my surroundings with caution. It looked like a cell, with a window far above in the right corner, barred with rusty steel. A smell of dust and filth clogged my senses, causing me to vomit violently in the corner. Wiping my mouth, I tried to walk over to the door, yet in vain. An iron ball clung desperately to my skinny ankle, constricting my movement. Despair swarmed over, causing my body to fall to the ground, tears spilling over like fountains down my cheeks.

What am I to do?

"Dear me Alice, you are in pickle aren't you?"

That despicable voice stabbed at my ears, annoying me more than any alarm. That dame Cheshire cat was posed behind the window, its eyes gleaming in amusement.

"What do you bloody want?" I yelled, barely able to contain my anger.

"Easy now Alice, I am not your enemy."

"You are not my friend either – all of mine have abandoned me. The white rabbit, Mad Hatter and even you cat. I was alone from the beginning!"

The cat sent daggers so ferocious it made me shut my mouth with a snap. Still, I stood my ground and the tears had finally subsided.

"Have you finished your little tantrum yet? Let me say this; you are not alone. As long as I am here, loneliness is nowhere to be seen." The cat stated, "Alice, promise me you will not say that ever again."

I slowly nodded, seeing that I must have really annoyed me. However much I said he was a pain, he appeared when he could (although he should help a lot more).

"What should I do? Where am I? I have so many questions."

"I know you do. Firstly, you are in the castle of the Black Queen. On what you should do, I haven't the faintest idea. The best thing to do is to pretend that you have fainted, and then attack the guard as fast as you can." The cat said simply, with a swish of his tail.

"You're insane – that only works in the movies."

"Have you got any other idea?"

"Why don't you infiltrate the castle and unlock me from the outside?"

The Cheshire cat spluttered with laughter, nearly falling off the ledge.

"Now _that _is insane."

"How so? It's better than your idea."

"This castle is fortified with a defence mechanism. The moment I enter the castle, the alarm will go off and _I_ would be captured before you could even say 'snap'." the cat answered flatly.

Great, I thought, then what am I supposed to do in here? Wait until the end of time, rotting away into dust? A loud rattle came from the keyhole, before a tall man entered in, covered from head to foot in sable armour.

"Meal." He said in a monotone voice, chucking a piece of greenish meat across the floor. Suddenly, I thought that this must be the moment that Cheshire cat must have been talking about. So I swooned the best way I could; so drama class did come in handy.

The guard charged over to me, shaking my body vigorously. With one swift movement, I tripped the guard over, grabbed his sword and plunged it in between the armour. Blood poured from the gap, warming up my bare feet. The guard let out a final squeak, before laying his head down for the last time on his crimson blanket. I grabbed the keys and attempted to open the shackle around my leg. After many minutes of frustration, I finally got the blinking thing off my leg. Quickly, I slipped another key in the door hole, unlocking the door and dashing through the gap. When I glanced back, I saw that the cat had disappeared. So typical. I quietly locked the door and headed cautiously down the hall, not wanting to arouse attention.

First, I needed to find some clothes. I looked myself once over; no way would I get away with this attire, especially the blood splatters.

The corridor was strewed with lots of different doors, to the point where it made me giddy. Small doors, round doors, multicoloured doors, squint doors and even doors that moved. One in particular made my skin crawl; it was made out of red hide, yet it was _breathing_ and I would go even as far as living.

This is more like a labyrinth, I thought bitterly, trying to open every door to have a peep inside. Some would open with ease, but I found myself staring into empty rooms. As I looked around, I also headed up flights of stairs, which seemed to go on forever into the skies above. Yet I met no one.

A loud clatter came from the floor below, causing me to stop in my tracks. A shadow could be seen from the landing, a tall, lanky shadow which seemed to glow in the candle light. Quietly, I dashed into the nearest room, locking it with panic. I analyzed the room quickly before launching myself at a nearby wardrobe and shutting it with a click. With only a peep hole to look out from, I waited for a long time to see if anyone came in. I could hear low footsteps like heart beats, increasing in volume as they came closer. The noise stopped outside the door for a second, yet it felt like a millennium. My heart knocked loudly in my chest, screaming to get out. Before I knew it, the person moved further down the corridor until I could hear nothing more.

Be known to my knowledge, I found that I had been holding my breath for a considerably long time. I allowed my lungs to supply oxygen again before stepping out of the closet.

As I inspected closer, the room was beautifully carved with flowers, chipped into the walls themselves. Their colours were faded, but it provided me comfort in this dark time. A bed was situated in the middle of the room, so large that it nearly took up the whole room. The covers were a deep lilac, so dark that it could have been black.

Remembering my situation, I turned back to the closet, swinging it open to find lots of beautiful dresses hanging in a row. They smelled rather strange, but that didn't matter too much. I picked the plainest one; a sky blue dress with golden flowers stitched along the hem and chose a pair of shoes that looked about my size.

I left the room after I changed, fearing that I might be caught by that figure I had heard behind the door. As long as I kept my wits about me, I could get out of this stinking castle.

**DUN DUN DUN! Sorry, I couldn't help it! ¬¬' . Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it :). Please RxR**


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